# Why does green = not ripe for fruits, not veggies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 25, 2006, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-green-not-ripe-for-fruits-not-veggies/354126 "2006-04-25T12:41:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-green-not-ripe-for-fruits-not-veggies/354126/21 "2006-04-25T19:24:01Z")
> [@](#): > > That’s why I hang out here - because of all the groupies. I thought those were fish? If it helps, you can think of it this way: Ripe fruits tend to be sweeter than unripe fruits. Things that are sweet are generally considered culinarily “fruits”, while things that are not sweet are not generally considered culinary “fruits”. So we call a green bean a “vegetable” because it’s not ripe when eaten, and we call an apple a “fruit” because it is ripe when eaten. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-green-not-ripe-for-fruits-not-veggies/354126/22 "2006-04-25T19:26:21Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Why are radishes and beets brightly colored, then? By accident? By human design? I believe the ancestral forms are not brightly colored, but pale. They have been bred that way. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-green-not-ripe-for-fruits-not-veggies/354126/23 "2006-04-25T19:40:34Z")
I thought most animals (that is, ground-based walkin’-around-type beasties) would _smell_ when fruits were ripe long before they’d see 'em. Why would color make such a difference, unless it were to attract, say, birds? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-green-not-ripe-for-fruits-not-veggies/354126/24 "2006-04-25T19:54:50Z")
Birds are major disseminators (sic) of fruit seeds. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-green-not-ripe-for-fruits-not-veggies/354126/25 "2006-04-25T20:02:38Z")
Oh, I know they are; I was wondering about his use of the word “animals.” ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-green-not-ripe-for-fruits-not-veggies/354126/26 "2006-04-25T20:38:34Z")
Birds are animals. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-green-not-ripe-for-fruits-not-veggies/354126/27 "2006-04-25T21:46:59Z")
Birds are a subset of Animals. Animals are a subset of Beings With Feet. Beings With Feet is a subset of Creatures On Earth. So fruit has evolved to let its seeds be distributed by Creatures On Earth. What I wanna know is, why’d he say animals (less specific) instead of birds (more specific)? Saying “animals” suggests there is a non-bird animal who locates fruit by color (not by smell), because most non-bird animals I can think of—save humans and our ilk—aren’t known for their color vision and poor senses of smell. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-green-not-ripe-for-fruits-not-veggies/354126/28 "2006-04-25T22:38:03Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > Animals are a subset of Beings With Feet. snakes aren’t animals? ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2006, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-green-not-ripe-for-fruits-not-veggies/354126/29 "2006-04-26T00:23:30Z")
Sheesh, everybody’s a comedian. Snakes have detatchable feet. They’re an aftermarket option. You know, like spoilers or mag wheels. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2006, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-green-not-ripe-for-fruits-not-veggies/354126/30 "2006-04-26T00:49:44Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > What I wanna know is, why’d he say animals (less specific) instead of birds (more specific)? Saying “animals” suggests there is a non-bird animal who locates fruit by color (not by smell), because most non-bird animals I can think of—save humans and our ilk—aren’t known for their color vision and poor senses of smell. I said animals in part because I live in the tropics, and one of the main dispersers of fruits here, besides birds, is monkeys. Monkeys, like us, see color well but have a poor sense of smell. Some other mammals, especially bats, are also fruit dispersers. Bats can’t see color (which would not be visible at night anyway). Many bat-dispersed fruits have a strong odor when ripe, but remain green. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-green-not-ripe-for-fruits-not-veggies/354126.md?page=1)